Silchar, Assam April 2: Every year, more than 50 children arrive at Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in Silchar, many after journeys of several hundred kilometres from remote districts across Assam, Tripura, Manipur, Mizoram and Meghalaya. They come seeking treatment that could save their lives. And yet, for a significant number of these families, the greatest barrier to completing that treatment is not the disease itself. It is the absence of a safe and affordable place to stay.
Access Life a non-profit organisation dedicated to ensuring that no child in India abandons cancer treatment opens its new Home Away from Home (HAH) centre in Silchar. The centre, located at Aashiana Building on Panchayet Road, Silchar, will accommodate up to 17 families at a time, providing free housing, nutritious meals, local transport, psychosocial counselling, and non-formal education for children during the course of their treatment.
Families travelling from across the Northeast will no longer have to choose between the financial burden of sustaining themselves in an unfamiliar city and the medical needs of their child. The Silchar HAH centre removes that burden entirely.
The centre has been made possible with the support of the Harish & Bina Shah Foundation (HBSF)a philanthropic organization dedicated to advancing equity, opportunity, and dignity across India. Established in 2002, the Foundation has supported a wide range of initiatives across geographies and communities, addressing both long-standing needs and emerging priorities, which has partnered with Access Life since 2022. Its support for Access Life has enabled the expansion of Home Away from Home centres across Chandigarh, Manipal and Madurai and now, for the first time, into northeastern India.
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“When a child is undergoing cancer treatment, the focus is rightly on medicine and doctors. But for families who come from far away, the question is often much more basic — where will we stay, how will we manage, can we continue? Through our partnership with Access Life, the Harish & Bina Shah Foundation hopes to ease that burden. The Northeast has long faced challenges of access, and this centre is a small but meaningful step towards addressing that. It is about giving families the confidence to stay the course.” Harish Shah, Chairperson, Harish & Bina Shah Foundation |
The Silchar centre is situated alongside Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, one of the most significant cancer care institutions in northeastern India. Under the leadership of Dr. R. Ravi Kannan — Director and Surgical Oncologist, trained at leading institutions in Chennai and Delhi, and recognised with the Padma Shri (2020) and the Ramon Magsaysay Award (2023) CCHRC has grown from a 23-member institution to a regional centre comprising 28 departments and over 450 staff. Its growth reflects a sustained commitment to making quality cancer care accessible in a region that has historically been underserved.
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“Patient care is never the effort of one individual — it is a collective commitment shared by healthcare professionals, donor partners, and the wider community. Initiatives like this bring everyone together toward a common purpose. Treatment drop-out rates among children can be very high, but when families are provided with a safe space to stay, cook, and live together during treatment, children are far more likely to continue and successfully complete their care journey.” Dr. R. Ravi Kannan, Director & Surgical Oncologist, Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre |
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“Families often travel hundreds of kilometres from remote parts of the Northeast seeking life-saving cancer treatment for their children. In such moments, access to safe accommodation near the hospital can determine whether a child continues treatment or is forced to abandon it. The Home Away from Home centre in Silchar ensures that families coming to Cachar Cancer Hospital have a dignified and supportive place to stay during their child’s treatment. “We are deeply grateful to Dr. Ravi Kannan and his team for making cancer care accessible in the region, and to the Harish & Bina Shah Foundation for their continued support in expanding Access Life’s work across India. For every family that walks through this door, it is the difference between staying and going home. This centre along with the rest is expected to serve over 200 families in this year and for each of those families, it represents the difference between staying and going home.” Girish Nair, Founder & Chairman, Access Life Assistance Foundation |
The launch in Silchar marks Access Life’s first centre in the Northeast and the fourteenth across India. It is a step that reflects both the scale of unmet need in the region and the possibilities that sustained, purpose-driven partnership can create. For the families who will walk through its doors, it offers something that no medical advance alone can provide: the assurance that they can stay, and that their child can finish treatment.
